Washing and pickling vat for battery-plates.



F. ENGEL.

WASHING AND PIGKLING VAT FOR BATTERY PLATES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 25, 1910.

1,122,887, Patented Dec. 29, 1914.

Wina'aqea: Ina/a ar cation.

FRANK ENGEI), or: nor-Faro,

dotted outline as p UNITED STATES PATENT CENTRAL TRUST COMPANY TRUSTEE.

NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO

new YORK, A conrona'rron or NEW YORK, WASHING A'ND PICKLING VAT F011. BATTERY-PLATES.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK ENGEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful I 7 provementsin Washing and Pickling Vats for Battery-Plates, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specifi- My invention relates to a washing and pickling vat and has for its object the provision of means whereby storage battery plates may be readily immersed in a pickling fluid such as dilute sulfuric acid, and whereby the acid may be readily drawn ofl.

In the accompanying dr wmg, I have illustrated a simple and pra ticalembodiment of my idea in which there are shown "two vats adapted to be alternately filled from a common reservoir,

and each having means whereby the acid may be returned .quickly to said reservoir. p k

In the drawing :Figure 1 is a vertical elevation, partly in section, of one embodi ment of my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof.

.The reservoir 1 consists preferably of a closed wooden tank lined with lead and adapted to contain dilute sulfuricacid. As illustrated, the tank is shown resting on the floor, although it may be provided with suitable supports. In the preferred form there are two washingand pickling vats 2 and 3 which are identical-in construction'so that 'it will be necessary to describe only one.

Referring tovat. 2,. for example, which is preferably constructed of wood and lined with lead, there is provided preferably asupport 4 for one .end of. the receptacle, on which support there is shown a block or beam 5. Other beams or blocks 6 and 7 are shown resting adapted to sup ortj the othenend of said vat. A pipe 8, pre' erably'oflead, extends from the bottom of said receptacle almost to the bottom of the reservoir 1 and. has its lower end cut awa diago ally at 9 to permit the unobstructed fiow oi the. acid therethrough. A rod10, preferably of wood, is shown in rejecting above the tank 2 and has its lower end provided with a pl'u ;j rubber or other suitable material on topfi of the reservoir 1 and" Specification of Letters Patent. P t t 29, 1 1 1, Application filed July 25, 1810. Serial No. 573,681.

adapted to act as a stopper for the opening at the top of the pipe 8.

.A pipe 12 is shown extending through the top of the reservoir 1 andconnects with a supply of compressed air.

A' valve 13, .is preferably provided, adapted to admit compressed air to the space in the reservoir above the level of the acid, not shown, whereby said acld may be forced up through the p'pe.8, into the vat above, said' valve being provided with a by-pass where-' .by the compressed air in the reservoir may The vat is a drain 14 to facilibe released,g when desired. further provided with tate cleaning the same.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The formed battery plates 15 havingbeen placed'in either tank in the manner shown in Fig. 1, and the plug 11 having been previously removed from this tank, the

air is turned on, whereby the acid is forced from the reservoir 1 into the tank until said plates are covered the proper amount. Thequantity of acid used'is ordinarily just sufficient to properly cover the plates when all ofit that is available has been forced from the reservoir into the tank. The valve is now turned, whereupon the air in the reservoir is confined under'pressure and prevents the return of acid to the reservoir. If desired, the plug 11 may be inserted in the top of pipe 8 to prevent the return of the acid, provided of course that the opening of the pipe has not been covered with plates. When the treatment. has proceeded far enough to complete thepickling process, the .5

lled with battery plates.

and anew in-.

is repeated and may be continued indefii nitelyL- Y I,

I do not limit myself tothe above, details of construction, as it is obvious that various the desired results in other ways.

Having thus described my invention, whatinstrumentalities may be combined to secure Apparatus of the class described, comprising an air tight reservoir for acid, two vats located above said reservoir each adjacent one end thereof. a pipe extending vertically downward from each vat to the bottom of said reservoir each of said pipes having its lower end cut away diagonally to permit the unrestricted flow of acid therethrough, a stopper adapted to fit the top of each pipe and a handle for each of said stoppers, a second pipe projecting through the top of said reservoir above the level of the acid contained therein, said second pipe connecting with a supply of compressed air, a Valve for said pipe whereby compressed air may be admitted to the space above the acid level in said reservoir to force said acid into either of said ,vats depending on which stopper 1s removed and a by-pass connection for said ,valve whereby the compressed air in said FRANK ENGEL.

Witnesses:

GEo. B. JONES, E. R. Knvo. 

